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[ a horse-- ] Uh... beef is a safe bet, I think. Beef with potatoes and then you add in your special touch?

... Lots and lots of spices, to make it red! [ because he's the Red King ]

Good idea! I think we have some around here, but if we need more we can sneak away really quick. [ nod, nod. here, kougyoku, have this big pot. ]

...

[ Wait, what does she do. Give her a moment to look for her hairpin! Then... fills the pot with water???? that's not how you use your metal vessel kougyoku ]

[ that's... one way of doing things. it's faster?! ]

Okay, now put it on the stove and put the heat on low so it doesn't boil too fast. You have to cook the meat first in a pan, I think... so you don't get blood in your soup! [ RIGHT? that seemed logical. ]

Oh! I see... We don't want that to happen. [ What are you teaching her, Yata

she puts the pot on the stove, sets the heat on low like he said, then gets the pan. but she makes the mistake of turning the stove on before putting the pan on it and sets it on high, too! the sudden flames startle her and make her squeak, prompting her to hide behind the pan she has in her hand. ]

[ instinct has him quickly stretching out an arm to put himself in front of her protectively when that fire flares up. Yata steps forward to turn the heat down before he looks back to Kougyoku... hiding behind a pan. ]

Sorry, should've warned you about that! It's happened to me before too.

[ ... He was cool for a second just now! Kougyoku's just glad he didn't laugh at her. That's... new. Sort of. Look, the only company she's kept for most of her life is a high-strung babysitter and a bratty psychotic manchild, so having nicer company for a change is always welcome. ]

It's okay. [ Realizing how dumb she looks, she sheepishly places the pan on the stove. ] Should I put the meat in now? Do I need to do anything else?

[ He was always cool. ]

Oh, hang on! [ Moving to the refrigerator, he fetches a stick of butter. ] Put a little bit of this on the pan so the meat doesn't stick and get burnt!

When the meat's cookin', you can start cutting up the vegetables.

[ Excuse you. ]

Ohhh. So that's how it is... [ She gets a bit of butter with a knife and puts it in the pan. Then, she tosses the meat in! The sizzling noise makes her jolt up. The heat is scaring her, okay! What if she gets burnt!? Now that the meat is cooking in the pan, she gets a variety of vegetables from the fridge and puts them on the counter. ]

Should we put all of these in? [ She wants to look cool while cutting vegetables like the royal chefs!!! ]

[ He grabs the knife and sets it in front of Kougyoku; he didn't want to do it for her, so she'd learn. ]

Yeah! You can put anything you want in it! Be careful when you cut 'em though, you could slice your finger open.

That won't happen! [ She almost yelled that. Breathe, Kougyoku, breathe. You're no stranger to sharp objects. ] I can do it!

[ She is determined to cut all the things. She starts with potatoes, carrots, onions... Then moves on to tomatoes, okra, lettuce... Yata, why are you letting her do this—

A sharp gasp escapes her when she accidentally cuts her finger from chopping onions too fast. ]

Okay, okay. You can do it.

[ He told her she could put in anything she wanted, he can't take that back. Just when he was starting to relax, thinking that hey, she's pretty good at this after all... that gasp. ]

-- I told you! Lemme see!

Yata...

[ Without hesitation, Kougyoku shows Yata her finger. She wasn't careful with the knife at all; the cut is deep enough to draw some blood. She frowns, upset that she made another mistake. ]

[ Shit. Yata holds one hand under her finger in case any blood drips down, the other used to lead her toward the sink. He gets the cool water running over the cut before looking at her. Stop making him worry, princess!! ]

Hurts?

[ Now he knows how her attendants feel.

She winces when water runs over the cut. It's better to be honest about this one. In a small voice, she admits, ]

A little.

[ He wasn't her attendant, though. He didn't need to fuss over her, so she's a little confused. ]

[ Hey, he's just taking care of a friend. ]

Good. It doesn't look too bad, but I think we have some bandages around here. Keep it under water 'till I come back.

[ That said, he makes a quick run to the bathroom cabinet and returns moments later with a band-aid. ]

It doesn't have any cool designs... but it'll still work!

Okay.

[ She keeps her cut under running water until he returns with band-aids like he says. What, no red winking stars!? It's okay, she's never seen a band-aid before. ]

Is it a magic tool? How does it work?

Nah, it ain't magic. You just put it on cuts so they don't get infected.

[ he turns the water off and dries her finger with a paper towel, then wraps the band-aid around the cut. ]

There, all set!

[ Wow. Kougyoku looks at her treated finger with awe. Band-aids. Who knew? ]

Thank you.

[ Man, she can't get over how nice Yata is. She spaces out, and her ongoing attempt at soup is quickly forgotten. ]

[ Meanwhile, Yata cleans up the knife and checks for any stray blood that may have gotten on something. Once that's done, his focus is back on Kougyoku and he lifts a brow at her (spacey) expression. ]

... Looks like you're concentrating hard on somethin'.

[ Her ears turn pink, and that brings her back to reality. ]

It's nothing! Ah, what was I doing—oh, right, right!

[ She grabs the chopped vegetables in a hurry, but wait! ]

Do I put them in the pot or in the pan!? They go in the pan, don't they?

[ DID THEY... ]

Yeah, the pan! Just until they're a little cooked, then you toss everything into the pot and let all the flavors soak in together. [ pause. ] We'll need a sauce, too... so we can just smash up tomatoes and mix them up with other spices, that's easy.

[ Yata, don't answer if you don't know. Kougyoku dumps all the vegetables in the pan because she doesn't know better. Yata sure knows a lot of things. ]

Sauce...! [ Of course. She puts another saucepan on the stove and sets it on low. Look, she's smashing tomatoes! And throwing them in! And dumping in a lot of spices! So she stirs and waits for a while, then... ]

It doesn't look like a sauce. [ Did she do something wrong!? She looks at Yata expectantly. ]

[ Look at her go, she's so enthusiastic and he doesn't know any better either. ]

... I think it needs a little bit of water. It'll look better once it's cooking with everything else!

[ It's easy to have an answer for everything when you're winging things and hoping it comes out edible. ]

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